HSC Research Highlights

Agricultural pollution

Agricultural pollution and its health effects continue to be a concern, particularly among rural and farming communities. School of Rural Public Health faculty member Susan E. Carozza, Ph.D., leads a team that is studying the link between agricultural pesticides, prenatal exposure and childhood cancers. The team just began the third year of this five-year, $973,922 National Institutes of Health-funded grant. Carozza's team uses geographic information system (GIS) methods to create historical land-use maps for assessing potential exposure to agricultural pesticides.

Blood Vessel Formation

Institute of Biosciences and Technology researcher Kishore K. Wary, Ph.D., has identified a set of 11 genes that were not previously known to be associated with the processes of angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels. Wary is conducting functional studies of these genes and proteins to gain knowledge of their mode of action and signaling pathways. He hopes to reveal new drug targets for designing diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic approaches for many diseases, including wound healing, atherosclerosis and growth of solid tumors.

Health Insurance Along the Border

A study investigating health insurance services in small factories on the U.S.-Mexico border seeks to learn how these small firms handle health insurance benefits for employees. This project is jointly funded by the South Texas Center and the city of McAllen, and the results will assist in finding ways to address the growing number of uninsured residents in the border region.

Infectious Disease Research Collaboration

In 2003, the A&M Health Science Center received its first National Institutes of Health training grant since the health science center's creation in 1999--$483,000 to support graduate students conducting research in infectious diseases at the College of Medicine, the Institute of Biosciences and Technology and the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University. David McMurray, Ph.D., regents professor in the College of Medicine's department of medical microbiology, is principal investigator for the five-year grant.

Microencapsulation

The Center for Microencapsulation and Drug Delivery is directed by Allison Ficht, Ph.D. The center is a collaborative effort to promote commercial development of a microencapsulated drug delivery system to ultimately decrease mortalities from a wide variety of diseases. The center also serves as a national and international resource for the development and FDA approval of microencapsulated delivery devices.

Neuroimaging

The head of the College of Medicine's department of psychiatry, Kathryn Kotrla, M.D., is pursuing new techniques in neuroimaging--the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines to view what is happening in the brains of people with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. MRI can now be used to create "movies" of processes within parts of the body, including the brain. Some of the newer applications of magnetic resonance imaging include functional MRI (FMRI)--in which brain activity can be viewed as it happens--and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), which allows researchers to discern the concentrations of various chemicals in the brain.

Research in Dentistry

Scientific grants totaling nearly $3.3 million are funding research at Baylor College of Dentistry in several areas, such as therapies for adult periodontitis, estrogen's effects both on cholesterol build-up in the arteries and on the temporo-mandibular (jaw) joint and its disorders/diseases. Academic grants for more than $2.1 million fund a variety of education programs and research at Baylor College of Dentistry.

Rural Disease Management

Led by Jane Bolin, Ph.D., researchers at the School of Rural Public Health are examining approaches to implementing disease management with rural populations. The combined effects of rural poverty and fewer numbers of health providers increase the prevalence and effects of chronic diseases for rural Americans. Chronic disease management offers the potential for improvement in the overall health of individuals with chronic diseases, while at the same time reducing overall costs of patient care.

Student Research

Baylor College of Dentistry fosters a rich academic environment for student research for dental, dental hygiene and graduate students. The college's nationally recognized Student Research Group has supported and encouraged its members' research interests for 30 years. Student researchers are winning awards and fellowships at the national level, and two BCD students are top officers in the National Student Research Group.

Zipper Proteins

At the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Magnus Höök, Ph.D., teamed up with scientists at Oxford University to publish a paper in Nature that shows how disease-causing bacteria might use a specialized zipper mechanism to attach to human cells. The discovery may help shed light on how certain bacteria can invade human cells. As bacteria become increasingly drug resistant and cause sometimes lethal infections, research breakthroughs like Höök's are critically important in the search for new strategies to combat these potentially deadly microbes.

Visit the Office of Research and Graduate Studies for more on the HSC's research efforts.